Japanese Crafts
We had lots of activities happening during our Japanese Tea Party. If you want to have a tea party of your own, you will want to serve green tea (no milk or sugar) almond cookies, and sushi. Get out the chop sticks and practice picking up food. Do some origami. Write a Haiku.
Make blossom prints by painting a simple tree on card stock. Dip sponges in paint and dab on the tree to make a colorful spring tree.
Make some paper netting called tanabata with tissue paper folded in half lengthwise and folded again.
Make parallel cuts across the paper about ¾ inches apart stopping about ½ inch from opposite edge. Go the whole length of the paper and then do the opposite side cutting between the slits. Place paper on a flat surface and carefully unfold it pulling the ends of the netting to open the cuts. Taken from Traditional Crafts from Japan by Florence Temko j745.0952 T279.
Make a Zen garden by pouring sand in a container with a lid. Place one rock and one ‘tree’ (evergreen cutting) and rake the sand into patterns with a plastic fork. Make sure to keep the garden simple for a sense of tranquility.
Good books to help with more ideas are Look What Came from Japan by Miles Harvey j952 H341 and Old Japan by Andrew Haslam j952 H352.
